Turkey reopens diplomatic mission in Syria days after fall of Assad gov’t

The embassy, which had suspended operations in 2012, officially reopened with Burhan Koroglu, Türkiye’s ambassador to Mauritania, as acting charge d’affaires.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had formally assigned Koroglu to the new post on Thursday.

Located near the city’s Rawda Square in an area where the diplomatic missions of many other countries are also located, the Turkish Embassy continued to provide its services for a time after the regime’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in 2011.

However, it suspended its daily activities in late March 2012.

Embassy staff and their families returned to Türkiye following this decision.

Since the downfall of the Assad government earlier this month, the Syrian Consulate General in Istanbul has continued its operations uninterrupted.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after armed groups took control of Damascus last week.

On Saturday, Turkey’s president stated that Syrians today are hopeful for the future after 13 years of war in their country.

“(For the first time) In years, people are smiling on the streets of Aleppo, Homs, and Damascus. After 13 years, our Syrian brothers and sisters are looking to their future with hope,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a local congress of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in the eastern province of Erzurum.